Board of Health to hold suspension hearings for pair of Route 1 gas stations March 11.

Charlie McKenna

February 5, 2024 by Charlie McKenna

SAUGUS — The Board of Health is set to hold a pair of suspension hearings next month for tobacco retailers in town that were found to have twice sold to minors and will also likely vote on new tobacco regulations to bring the town more closely in line with the state.

The hearings will be held for both Speedway and Mobil on Broadway, with a 7-day suspension of the gas station’s permits to sell tobacco likely to follow. On Monday, the board also heard a presentation from Joyce Redford, the director of the North Shore/Cape Ann Tobacco Policy program.

Redford told board members that Saugus largely lines up with the state for its regulations of tobacco retailers but made a few minor suggestions to bring the town more closely into compliance with updated regulations at the state level. Specifically, she said, Saugus and many other municipalities did not include menthol, mint, and wintergreen in lists of banned tobacco flavors when first banning flavored tobacco, but the state included those in a law enacted in 2020.

Beyond that, Redford pointed to two areas where Saugus does not address specific scenarios in its regulations. First, the town has no regulations to address whether or not a retailer with outstanding fines can renew their license. Redford said adding that rule would be an administrative benefit so the town would not have to chase the retailer for the fine money.

Second, Saugus does not address whether or not an individual gets to have their permit if they’ve had three violations in 36 months. While the board is the licensing authority and could revoke the license, adding the regulation would make it automatic.

Redford also suggested the town implement a permit cap of 26 establishments — the number currently operating in town, rather than the 30 it is capped at. She also recommended the town implement a cap on the number of adult-use retailers, at two, noting that those stores are allowed to sell higher concentrations of tobacco because only customers over 21 are allowed inside.

Saugus also does not have any language in place regarding a requirement to be a certain number of feet away from a school building — as it does for cannabis — nor does it have any language preventing two tobacco retailers from occupying the same plaza. Redford did not necessarily recommend what action the board should take on those points but noted that any action would only apply to new retailers, and existing businesses would essentially be grandfathered in.

Redford also suggested Saugus restructure its fining system to make the penalties consistent regardless of the violation. For example, she said, if a retailer’s first violation within 36 months was selling to a minor, it would be fined $1,000, but if its second infraction was incorrect packaging of a cigar, the fine would only be $200. If the retailer were then found to have been selling flavored products within that same period, the fine would be $5,000.

“It’s kind of a headache to keep track,” Redford said. “It’s even problematic for retailers. They don’t know where they fall.”

The recommendation would be to have all components of the regulation follow state law for fines, so retailers would be hit with a $1,000 fine for a first offense followed by a $2,000 fine for a second offense and $5,000 for a third offense if all three were in the same 36-month period.

Redford also recommended that Saugus add a three-day suspension for retailers found to have sold to minors as a first offense on top of the existing fine.

The board did not vote on any of the new rules presented by Redford but will likely take them up on March 11.